https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12852/3302 2026-11-13T21:30:06Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12852/4038 The case of Mr. Darma: A pastoral theological approach to the dying by using case study method Purba, Burju I. Introduction Each dying person is unique. This dissertation does not attempt to give a general "Method Approach", valid for all dying persons. Discussing the dying person on a general, theoretical-intellectual level, and one does not really touch on the problem of dying itself. To avoid the danger of generality, this thesis starts with the real case of Mr. Darma, written up in accordance with the Case Study Method customarily used in the SEAGST Doctor of Pastoral Studies Program. This method has four steps: case description, analysis, interpretation, and strategy for pastoral action. This approach is holistic and multi-disciplinary, relating theology and social sciences in a critical way. II. The Case of Mr. Darma Mr. Darma, a businessman, is chairperson of a local Church Council. He is 42 and his wife 38 years old. They have two sons and four daughters, ranging in age from 18 to 4 years. The family lives in a regional capital (kota Kabupaten) in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Mr. Darma's parents were active church members. He himself faithfully attended Sunday school and Confirmation Class. After the death of his father when he was four years old, he was raised by his mother, who passed away three years before Mr. Darma fell ill with cancer. The first signs of Mr. Darma's illness were lumps on his neck. It was thought to be "black-magic", the work of someone in the congregation who hated him as chairperson of the Church Council. Treatment by a medicine man (dukun) had no effect. On the contrary, one more lump appeared. Mr.Darma then decided to see a medical doctor who diagnosed cancer and suggested treatment abroad. Having gone abroad, he was operated and given extensive x-ray treatments. One week after his return home, Mr.Darma developed a fever. It was then that he was visited by two pastors, his uncle and a friend active in a prayer fellowship. At their urging he attended a rally of the "Divine healing Group". During a later conversation with his pastor Mr.Darma said: "As you can see, Pastor, all efforts at healing me have been unsuccessful. The devil has whispered in my ear, The Lord has forsaken you. He is no longer with you. If He loved you, He would have heard your prayer. The Lord is gracious, Pastor, but He does not love me nor my wife and my children. What kind of sin has been committed by me or my parents or my ancestors that I am suffering like this? I feel I am no longer being tested, but punished. The Lord is the Holy God, who punishes sinners up to the fourth generation." Then, in another conversation with his uncle, he addressed his dead parents, saying: "Father, mother, if I recover I will build you a tomb of cement. Please, let me live, because your grandchildren have not grown up yet." Near the end of his life Mr.Darma took Holy Communion at the urging of his wife. Half an hour later he died. II. Analysis The case having been described as objectively as possible, is now analyzed from five perspectives: that of pastoral interaction, language, psychology, and religion and socio-religious dynamics. 1. Pastoral Interaction The role of the pastors and other visitors was more that of advisors and scolders than that of friends trying to share in Mr. Darma's suffering. 2. Language Speaking about God Mr. Darma used metaphors as "the Wholly Other", "the God who punishes" sinners anti "the God who loves the righteous". 3. Psychology Mr.Darma experienced stages of emotion i.e. shock, refusal, bargaining, fear/depression and acceptance. He has emotional adjustment problems connected with God, himself and people around him. 4. Reigion Because of his father's early death, Mr. Darma's image of God is more colored by the influence of his mother than his father. He sees God as a com- forting mother who gives him everything he needs. He experiences God on a mystical feeling level. Therefore his illness and suffering are perceived as punishment. 5. Socio-religious dynamics A strong influence on Mr.Darma is the traditional Batak religion i.e. its concept of God; its dualistic view of humankind; the function of the parent. The parent, while alive, is as a revealed God and, after his or her death, as the ancestor's spirit able to bless or punish the descendants -even able the descendants to the world of the dead. Since Mr. Darma received little Biblical instruction about the relationship between sin and sickness, he concluded that this illness was God’s punishment for his sins. Conclusion From what has been found in the analysis of the case, it can be concluded that Mr.Darma has a theological and psychological problem concerning the image of God. His image of God as Punisher is stronger than that of God as a loving Father. Therefore Mr. Darma does not have a clear understanding of death, of life after death or about the relationship between the living and the dead. III. Interpretation Based on the case Description and analysis, the following can be argued: 1. Mr. Darma is inclined to understand God more as a Judge than as a gracious Father. This can be attributed to theological, psychological, cultural-religious and social factors. a. Theological factors Mr. Darma's concept of God was influenced by Pietism and Calvinism. Pietism Pietism, emphasizing personal righteousness, is a strong aspect in the teaching of the HKI Church of which Mr. Darma was a member. It colored his operative theology which was influenced by his Sunday school education, Confirmation Class and the sermons he heard on Sundays. He had to memorize the Ten Commandments and moralistic songs. He was taught that God is the lawgiver who has to be feared, blessing those who obey and punishing those who he kept hearing sermons which emphasized personal righteousness and spoke dis- approvingly of human weakness. These sermons left the impression with Mr. Darma that God had refused to heal him during the rally of the Divine Healing Team, because his faith was not strong enough. Calvinism Calvinism, emphasizing church discipline, is a dominant factor in the HKI church. Breaking the church rules is punishable. As chairperson of the Church council Mr. Darma had to censure others. This affirmed his image of a punishing God. b. Psychological factors Due to his father's early death and the strong influence of his mother Mr.Darma knew God in a mystic, affective way. He never experienced a father figure who while refusing his child's requests still loved it. When he was not given what he asked for, he interpreted that as punishment. c. Cultural-religious factors Batak culture reenforces the image of God as Punisher. According to Batak belief "Debate Sori" (god of fortune) is the source of good fortune as well as misfortune and "Debata Dihurmajati" is the source of lucky and unlucky days. Relying more on Barak beliefs than Biblical learning, sickness meant to Mr. Darma punishment from God, given to him because of his own, his parent's and his ancestors' trespasses. d. Social factors Mr. Darma was disappointed in the pastors who visited him during his ill ness. According to him, a pastor's function is to listen to people with problems, especially religious problems. His one-sided image of God as Punisher was not corrected, unfortunately, due to lack of a good pastoral relationship. 2. Mr. Darma cannot really understand the idea of a Loving God. It was not clear to him that the Ten Commandments are not meant for gaining merits but for keeping them in response to God's saving grace. The purpose of God's law is not to burden His people, but to reveal His love. Good works are the result of (not the condition for) our status as God's children who have received everything from the Father. They need not be done by people accused before the law of God, in order to gain His favor. 3. The consequence of Mr. Darma's inability to see God as loving is that he is not sure that there will be a life after death for him. His life being colored by a legalistic spirituality he does not understand that illness and death are not signs that he is no longer in Christ. In the first place this causes him to suffer emotionally, not being able to accept that he is dying. In the second place he views his relationship with the deceased according to Batak culture and not based on a life in Jesus Christ. 4. During his grief and suffering, caused by cancer, Mr.Darma was not well pastorally assisted by the people or pastors who came to counsel him in gaining an adequate image of God. They themselves did not realize that they, in counselling the patient, were representatives of God. This inadequacy only further confirmed Mr. Darma in his image of the punishing God. IV. Pastoral Action Based on previous findings we can say that the case of Mr. Darma addresses primary problems relating to theology, psychology and pastoral care. It also addresses secondary issues as the socio-religious influence of the Batak culture. These two, of course, are interrelated. So in planning pastoral action we have to pay attention to both sets of problems. The first step in planning pastoral action will be to remove Mr. Darma's psychological block by enabling him to accept a new and more complete image of God. This will enlarge his theological knowledge and help him in coping with his illness. Lutheran theology about God may provide a suitable model here. Furthermore, it is important for pastors and church workers to increase their skill in pastoral counseling through personal and theological reflection on their work and to improve communication with the client. The Relevance of this Thesis The relevance of this dissertation is found in the following: 1. This Thesis shows that and how the knowledge of God determines the way people view and cope with disease, death, life after death, and their understanding of the relationship between the living and the dead;, 2. This thesis, it is hoped, may be used as a source of understanding of Darma's case and as an aid in ministering to dying people in general; 3. The multi-disciplinary approach of this thesis, relating theology and social sciences, may strengthen the effectiveness of pastoral care of dying persons. 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12852/4032 Religious Interaction: A theological pastoral observations concerning the case of religious interaction in warna village based on case study method Andriata, Hada This study is an effort to understand a very un- pleasant case that happened in a village in Indonesia as a result of religious interaction there. The objective is in- tended to help the Church do her theological pastoral actions more effectively and contextually. By taking the right pastoral actions, we hope that the Church may prove to be a living- witness of Christ and assist to create a peace-loving Indonesian nation based on Pancasila. The observation consists of three main sections i. e., Case Descriptio, Analysis, Interpretation and Pastoral Actions. Part One: CASE DESCRIPTION The case in question is about a conversion from Islam into Christianity done by a kyai (Moslem leader) called Aan. It happened in a village called Warna, a poor village inhabited by Moslems only. In time many villagers wanted to follow Aan's footstep and become Christians. This event brought about wide accusations that there had been a Christianization in the village, especially after the arrival of a Christian known as Katongga whose Christianity is not yet clearly identified. He was alleged to have persuaded Varna's people to turn Into Christians. As a result the measures taken by the local authorities and some Moslem leaders, Aan and his family lived in a state of depression. Meanwhile, the Church of Ratung, where kyai Aan and his friends some- times went to attend Church services, found it almost impossible to get in touch with Aan and his family in order to help them. The Church of Ratung had two reasons for that attitude i.e.; firstly, kyai Aan was not a member of Ratung Church yet; and secondly they wanted him to win his faith in Christianity through his own struggle with the least support from the Church. It was obvious, however, that the Church of Ratung had and still has limitations in its funds, manpower, etc. Part Two: ANALYSIS The analysis is based on three main assumptions: A. Assumption based on attitudes: religious enthusiasm, fanatical and fanaticism People involved in this particular case are kyai Aan, Katongga, the people of Warna village and the local Moslem leaders, and a strong assumption is that the case was closely related to the attitudes and interests of all those people concerned. Kyai Aan at first showed a lot of religious enthusiasm. But when he was confronted with hostile attitude from the local Moslem leaders, he became gradually prejudiced against Islam.Katongga, on "the other hand, acted not because he possessed religious enthusiasm, fanatical or fanaticism, but because he was simply an adventurer wandering everywhere for his individual interests. The desire of the people of Warna village to change their religious faith was not caused by religious enthusiasm, but rather by their original religious mentality mixed with the superstition found in traditional Islam. That mixture brought about unfaithfulness to their original religious belief. Non-commitment to their original religious belief doubled by severe poverty made it easy for the people of that village to convert into Christianity because they saw there would be a hope for better life as Christians. The attitude of the local religious leader? Is caused by prejudice and fanaticism in their Islamic "belief. To them Islam is a religion that abrogates earlier religions, including Christianity. This outlook has been strengthened by fanaticism Inherited from Banten, which was then centre of Islam. Beside, back in the nineteenth century, in Banten there was strong anti-colonial movement that brought about an anti-Christian movement. The strong feelings against Christianity have since been passed down from one kyai generation to the next one. The attitude demonstrated by those Moslem leaders of Warna village was motivated by the fact that they were afraid of losing their authority in their leadership, and they somehow felt responsible for guarding kyai Aan and others in the village from being "punished, in hell as Islam teaches. They were so eager in dealing with their respective interests that they ignore the many basic customs in villages such as 'anjang sono'.All those factors disrupted the relations and communications among village people and their leaders, and that was how the case of Warna village came to pass. Abstract only 1986-06-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12852/4031 Pelayanan sosial kristen:Suatu studi yayasan Bimbingan kesejahteraan sosial de surakarta (Christian social ministry, A case of social welfare guidance foundation in surakarta) Seotopo, Christian 1. The focus point of this study is a concrete situation, namely the YBKS mission as a theological locus. Not only are the programs of the YBKS mission discussed, but also the theological assumptions on which these programs are based. Chapter I, therefore, gives a description of YBKS as a church institution, explaining its programs and their theological impact YBKS, as we observe it, is a good example of church praxis. This study is an effort to reflect critically upon the theology of this church praxis. Praxis not only means the pragmatically things, but also includes the ontological/existential aspects they are based on. 2. This paper investigates both the theological assumptions of the YBKS mission as well as their manifestations and applications in relation to the local context of state ideology and national identity. Operationally applying the Christian faith (the theological basis) to answer human needs is one of the most important aspects of the YBKS mission. By investigating the theological basis of the YBKS mission its identity can be better understood. 3. The validity of the theological foundation of YBKS is derived from the Holy Bible, i.e. God's Word in the Old and New Testament, and the Apostle's Creed, thus explaining its theological origin. A firm belief in Christ has obvious consequences in matters of poverty and oppression. Thus motivated the theological trends of YBKS are shaped after Calvinist theology, the Social Gospel, Liberation theology and the theology which comes out of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican II. Although the theology of VRKS is open-ended, it remains faithful to its origin. 4. The emphasis of YBKS on human dignity is based on the Calvinistic concept of 'Soli Deo Gloria'. Poverty and oppression are incongruent with human dignity, and thus God is not glorified. Besides that, Calvinist teaching provides a zest for life to organize or reform the world both for the well-being of mankind as well as the glorification of God. 5. The social Gospel opens our eyes to the fact that a Christian is not only responsible for one's personal life, but also for society, especially in facing unjust ice, poverty and oppression. However, we object to the optimism which the Social Gospel shows in supposing that it is possible to build a prosperous society by using the God-given potential of each person or the human institutions in society. (Rauschenbusch) 6. Liberation theology teaches YBKS that there is a danger that Marxist ideology replaces social theology, especially in the case of the poor and oppressed. A sharp analysis is needed in order to differentiate between theology and ideology. The results of this analysis are used to discuss the relationship between YBKS and the ideology of Pancasila. The result of this discussion shows that the YBKS mission receives a different self-identity from Liberation theology than from the Social Gospel, it can be said, and that Liberation theology plays a great part in the YBKS mission, because it challenges YBKS to actualize its theological origin in relation to poverty. 7. Theological thinking of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church (Vatican II) provides a strong moral push towards social action based on Christian belief. An ecumenical flavor becomes more and more noticeable precisely because of the collective involvement in social action. Discussions between the World Council of Churches and the evangelical groups (Melbourne and Pattaya) give the impression that social action not necessarily sharpens polarization, but provides an opening to dialog for the sake of both social and personal well-being. 8. Turning to the ideological as well as the sociological aspect of the application of Christian social action, the difference between Christian faith and ideology is clarified in the awareness that the Christian faith is also part of the national identify. Thus YBKS must be clear about its identity as a Christian institution placed in a particular nation. 9. Having as its spiritual basis a theological foundation and as its ideological basis Pancasila the social mission of YBKS appears a governmental tool, but also its critical partner. Both the YBKS social mission and the government are open for criticism based on the ideology of Panca sila. Pancasila cannot be used to defend power, but rather needs to be implemented in accordance with its high ideals. 10. From a sociological point of view the YBKS social mission functions as a catalyst wherever educational institutions, the economy, the law, the family or culture, influenced by inhumane norms, need to be changed. This changing is based on the belief that Christ is incarnated in every aspect of human life, in order to save and liberate it. Such transformation is not only in accordance with the will of Christ, but also appears an aspiration of Pancasila. 11. In order for YBKS to accomplish the things mentioned above, a transformational approach to diaconal care instead of the traditional one emerges. In this case a dialog is needed between the social service center and the churches. This pastoral dialog does not have the intention to find fault or to degrade one of the part is, but openly to seek and find the truth in actualizing diaconia. The churches are pastorally responsible for the actions of the YBKS mission, so that YBKS does not deviate from God's commandments and, the other way around, YBKS mission encourages the churches not to live only for themselves. The concept of the Church must be developed as an institutional concept which guards the tradition and whose function it is to spread religion aimed at the churches for the poor. 12. In the strengthening its theological assumptions it is not enough that YBKS only uses the results of theological reflection of various schools, but it should also use as a method of interpretation the pastoral theological approach of Fiorenza. Being theologically grounded means that it is not enough to collect Bible verses which support social action, but these verses need to be interpreted in order to reflect upon and show concern for the poor and oppressed. 13. Social analysis is needed in order to understand the needs of people, especially the poor and oppressed. Karl Marx once said that only they who have a commitment to the poor and oppressed are capable of making a real analysis. Thus Christians also need to show solidarity or commitment. However, their analysis can only fulfil human needs in accordance to their ideals. The commitment of the Christian faith is based on Christ's commitment which is incarnated in every aspect of life. In the same way the Christian faith is also incarnated in ever y aspect of life, which is transformed into a humanity according to the will of God, not only according to human aspirations. Doing theology without commitment to the poor and oppressed is doing theology for one's own sake, playing with thoughts and ideas. 14. A large measure of creativity and identity is needed to actualize Christian commitment and to develop culture and religion. Returning to Calvin he states that is all human efforts are only for humankind themselves, people will lose their humanity, because God is not glorified. To glorify God does not mean only with praises, prayer or worship, but with creativity and a strong identify in order to build a new world and a new heaven (a new creation) together with Christ who has liberated the poor and oppressed. Although Reinhold Niebuhr said that it is impossible for people to reach perfect humanity in this world (perfect love), yet there is evidence that with creativity and identity faith can do all things impossible, however limited. Abstract only 1987-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12852/4017 The criterion of leadership: Hutapea, Halomoan R.F. Introduction This dissertation is divided into four chapters. They are case description, analysis, interpretation, and action. 1. Case Description To procure the case in this study the writer interviewed several persons. They were a clergyman in Parulian village, Jagukguk (a member of a local vestry), the regional praeses (regional bi- shop), social figures in a rural district and county. In connect; ion with rural development in Desa Parulian a case was procured which became the essential problem of study in this dissertation. The problem concerned with the disharmonious mutual works between Rev. Partogi as a local clergyman and Jagukguk as both an elder and raiahuta (village authority). This chapter ends with pastoral counseling given by Rev. Partogi to elder Jagukguk. 2. Analysis The second chapter deals with analysis. The analysis is focused on three objects. Firstly, Desa Parulian as the context of Rev. Partogi's pastoral service. Secondly, rural development as the context of Rev. Partogi's pastoral service. Thirdly, rural church as the context of pastoral service. Culturally Desa Parulian is inhabited by two groups of people, they are sipungkahuta (the village founders) and paisolat (the immigrants). Culturally speaking, sinungkahuta is considered to be higher in status than naisolat. This social status difference has become a source of problems, both socially and pastorally. Sinungkahuta considers himself to be the authority in the village, and the clergyman, being an immigrant is classified as naisolat. Being sinangkahuta every activity is subject to his consent. On the other side, there is a legal authority appointed by the government that is the Kepala Desa (the head of the district). Therefore there is always an unfair competition among the three figures, the clergyman, the sinungkahuta, and the Kenala Desa. The competition results on disharmonious works between the inhabitants as members of society and as members of church congregation. Rural development has become a source of problem in Desa Parulian. The rehabilitation of irrigation network has been initiated by the government in the form of bank loan. The rehabilitation has been conducted inappropriately which involved elder Jagukguk and Jalomak, the Kenala Desa. At last, the church as the context of Rev. Partogi pastoral service, is also discussed. In this case the disharmonious mutual works between Rev. Partogi and elder Jagukguk is analyzed. The analyses concern with the structure and function of church services. The results of the analyses have played important roles in the making of the criterion of leadership of Rev. Partogi. The 4. Pastoral Action This chapter deals with the necessary actions which are considered to be relevant in solving the problem. Pastoral repressing activities should be administered by the HKBP Central Officials for all the clergymen in the district con- cerned. Similar activities should be administered by the praises fop all the elders in the local congregation. The aims of these pastoral actions are develop the good criterion of leadership among them. As for Rev.Partogi in his pastoral counseling given to the elder Jagukguk for making reconciliation of opinions so that elder Jagukguk could change his image of God, not as God of punishment, but as God of love. Abstract only 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z